Blizzard Cuts Back Heroes of the Storm Development and Support

Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard’s answer to Dota 2. And while it has seen a host of updates and quality of life improvements in 2018, it appears that Blizzard will be cutting back on Heroes of the Storm’s development in 2019. In a post on the studio’s website it appears that Heroes of the Storm’s developers have been shifted onto other projects. Furthermore, Heroes of the Dorm and Heroes Global Championship, two of Blizzard’s tentpole Heroes of the Storm events, have been cancelled for 2019. What’s interesting is how Blizzard has worded its announcement, suggesting that it hasn’t been as profitable as one would assume.

“Ultimately, we’re setting up the game for long-term sustainability,” the post reads. “We’re so grateful for the support the community has shown from the beginning, and the development team will continue to support Heroes with the same passion, dedication, and creativity that has made the game such a unique experience.”

While Heroes of the Storm will continue to get some support in terms of new characters, Blizzard states that “the cadence will change”.Heroes of the Storm Mobile Wouldn’t Be a ‘Simple Port’: Blizzard

This is in sharp contrast to comments from the Heroes of the Storm team to Gadgets 360 at BlizzCon 2018 when questioned about the game’s monetisation and if it would change to take advantage of its new heroes.

“Our new hero content is the heartbeat of the game,” said Matthew Cooper, Lead Content Designer on Heroes of the Storm. “It shakes up the meta and it’s a big piece of content for players to engage with. Overall, we’re pretty happy with the business side of Heroes of the Storm in general.”